While the Elven Tribes hide in terror from the Emperor of Shadow, Chained though he is, he sends forth his minions across the land. These warrior are eternally loyal, unstoppable and innumerable. Just what every world dominating Emperor wants, shock troops of the highest caliber.
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Title: Cthulhu 2000
Series: Cthulhu Anthology #12
Editor: Jim Turner
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Cosmic Horror
Pages: 440
Words: 178K
I have to admit, I was hoping for a little more from this collection. The editor talks about the various stories at the beginning of the book and mentions that the final story by Zelazny might be difficult to fit into a Cthulhu collection. He wasn’t kidding. Zelazny’s story had NOTHING to do with cosmic horror and came across as nothing more than adding a big name to sell the collection. Color me unimpressed.
I did like “Pickman’s Modem”, as I love it when technology dates itself to a point where I can remember using that stuff. The modem in question is a 2400 baud modem. Oh yeah, those were the good ol’ days! The rest of the stories were simply ok (outside of Zelazny) and while I don’t regret that I read them, I do wish they’d been a little bit tastier.
Hopefully the next collection will be better.
★★★☆☆
Table of Contents:
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Old Man’s Cave
Series: Bone #33-37
Author: Jeff Smith
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comics
Pages: 128
Words: 5K
I don’t know what to say about this. I semi-enjoyed it and yet I found myself seriously not caring about the overall story. I also was not being very entertained. Not a very good combination.
I only have 3 more omnibus volumes left but I don’t know if I’ll hang in there or not. My patience with the visual art side of books has dramatically dropped. I want the pure words. Art has a way of making artist/authors think they can get away with poor story telling by covering it up with pretty pictures.
Ahhhhhhhhhh, sigh…..
★★★☆☆
From Boneville.fandom.com
Fone Bone and Smiley Bone are seeking for something.
Wow, good job Bone fans, you outdid yourselves this time! You bunch of putzes.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Traitor
Series: Victor the Assassin #10
Authors: Tom Wood
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 367
Words: 105K
This was a return to form for Victor the Assassin and a very welcome return in my opinion. Instead of Victor killing boatloads of people because they’re trying to kidnap a retarded kid, Victor is killing boatloads of people because someone betrayed him and is sending killteams after him.
This was a multiple layer story about various jobs that ended up all tying together. And of course, the obvious double cross turns out NOT to be a double cross at all but a mere accident. I thought that bit of a lime twist really added flavor to the story. Victor’s reaction to it however was Classic Victor and exactly what I expected from him.
The only downside was that by the time the story ended Victor was once again in hock to yet another powerful individual/corporation/government. That pattern is old by now even while I acknowledge that it works. It certainly works much better than having Victor “keeping a promise to a kid” so maybe I better be careful what I wish for.
This is the latest release, so now I’m going to have to wait for each new release as it comes out.
★★★★☆
From the Publisher
SOMEONE’S SET HIM UP
SOMEONE’S GOING TO DIE
When Victor is arrested for a murder that, for once, he didn’t commit, escape must surely be inevitable for a hitman of his ferocity.
Yet someone wants Victor put away, and he finds himself behind bars, incarcerated by police who have no idea of the monster they are dealing with and have, apparently, tamed.
Quickly, however, his fellow the prisoners realise that he’s not trapped in there with them: they are in a cage, with the most dangerous of enemies. And Victor has a traitor to find.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Legend of a Hero
Series: One Piece #43
Arc: Water Seven #12
Author: Eiichiro Oda
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 215
Words: 10K
Fight, fight, fight, fight and fight.
Waaaaaaaaaaaait for it…..
and fight some more.
Yeah, I’m done. I didn’t enjoy this volume. I think I’m burned out on One Piece for quite a while. Back in the ‘00’s I started OP and made it up until vol 29 and had to quit in August of ‘10. I didn’t try again until July of ‘21.
It started well and I loved the zaniness and silliness. But it has turned into a truly massive shonen manga and I’m tired of the fighting. I don’t like how Oda-san draws the fights because I can’t figure out what is going on.
Therefore I am going to stop. I have no plans of ever picking this up again, but if I do, I’ll start here and not try to re-read all the early stuff. But right now, I suspect I’ll be done with this. If I don’t enjoy it, why read it? And I am definitely not enjoying it.
Sighhhhhhhhh. This really feels like my time with manga overall is wrapping up too. I hate changes, even if it is just a part of life.
★★☆☆☆
From Wikipedia:
“Super-Size Nami”
“Nami vs. Kalifa”
“You Missed Your Chance”
“Hunter”
“Sanji vs. Jabra”
“Heat Up”
“Zoro vs. Kaku”
“Asura”
“Luffy vs. Rob Lucci”
“Legend of a Hero”
With the destruction of Enies Lobby imminent, all government personnel begin to evacuate. The Straw Hats continue fighting and, with the exception of Luffy versus Lucci, defeat the remaining members of CP9. Their battles won, they team up and hurry to stop Robin from being taken past the point of no return. They succeed and Robin is freed.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Gone for Good
Series: ———-
Author: Harlan Coben
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 319
Words: 120K
My goodness, this was more jam packed than a mexican soap opera. Let me see if I can summarize the utter madness.
TADA! No hablo burrito taca el grande mucho. Mucho mucho mucho grande taco burrito!!!
See, more drama than you can shake a big taco at. I was ready to quit this about 10 times, every time a new revelation happened. It didn’t help that the main character was a fething pansy. He couldn’t protect himself, much less anybody else. But he still kept bleating platitudes about protecting his girlfriend or the younger sister, while failing spectacularly every time. When it’s revealed at the end that he has a 12 year old daughter, maaaaaan, did I feel bad for her. Her daddy is a big fat wuss and she better learn to protect herself real quick!
And yet I will read more by Coben. Of course, if he keeps using pansy wussies for main characters, I suspect I won’t last many more books. He better write some better characters pronto. Mucho pronto in fact.
★★✬☆☆
From Wikipedia.org
As a boy, Will Klein had a hero: his older brother, Ken. Then, on a warm suburban night in the Kleins’ affluent New Jersey neighborhood, a young woman—a girl Will had once loved—was found raped and murdered in her family’s basement. The prime suspect: Ken Klein. With the evidence against him overwhelming, Ken simply vanished, spending the next decade as the elusive subject of rumors, speculation, and an international manhunt. When his shattered family never heard from Ken again, they were sure he was gone for good.
Now, eleven years have passed. And Will, who always believed in his brother’s innocence, has found evidence that Ken is alive—even as he is struck by another act of betrayal. His girlfriend suddenly disappears, leaving behind compelling evidence that she was not the person Will thought she was. As the two dark dramas unwind around him, Will is pulled into a violent mystery, haunted by signs that Ken is trying to contact him after all these years. Will can feel himself coming closer and closer to his brother… and to a terrible secret that someone will kill to keep buried. And as the lies begin to unravel, Will is uncovering startling truths about his lover, his brother, and even himself.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards...
